Former Manchester United star Donny van de Beek suffered a serious blow as Girona had been relegated from LaLiga on Saturday, only one yr after the membership performed within the Champions League.
Van de Beek, 29, endured a troublesome four-year spell at Outdated Trafford after becoming a member of from Ajax for an preliminary £35million in 2020, enjoying simply 62 instances for the Purple Devils.
He moved to Girona forward of the 2024-25 season, with the LaLiga outfit making ready for his or her first ever European marketing campaign.
Nevertheless, lower than two years later, the Catalan membership, who’re owned by The Metropolis Soccer Group, have been relegated from the Spanish prime flight following a dramatic closing day to return to the second tier for the primary time since 2022.
In what was a chaotic relegation battle, seven groups may nonetheless go down heading into Saturday, with two unlucky sides set to affix already relegated Actual Oviedo.
Girona started the day in 18th, two factors adrift of their opponents Elche, who sat in seventeenth – and so they had been simply three factors behind Sevilla in thirteenth.
Girona have been relegated from LaLiga, a yr after they performed within the Champions League
Former Man United star Donny van de Beek performed simply twice this season attributable to damage
Alvaro Rodriguez put Elche forward within the first half with a surprising strike, and though Arnau Martinez levelled early within the second half, Girona could not discover one other purpose and succumbed to their destiny, with a number of gamers left in tears at full-time.
Girona additionally dropped all the way down to nineteenth place as Mallorca beat Actual Oviedo 3-0, though the Pirates had been nonetheless relegated regardless of ending degree on factors with Osasuna and Levante attributable to head-to-head report.
It caps a dramatic fall for Girona, whose chairman is Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, following a equally outstanding rise earlier to that.
They solely gained promotion to LaLiga for the primary time of their historical past in 2017, however suffered relegation two years later.
Girona had been promoted once more in 2022, although, and certified for the Champions League in 2024 after coming third following a surprising marketing campaign the place they topped the league for a prolonged interval.
That European marketing campaign – which noticed them knocked out within the League Section after taking simply three factors from eight video games – did impression their home kind as they got here sixteenth final season.
And the membership had been unable to recuperate from that droop this outing, floating across the relegation locations all through the marketing campaign, though they stored religion with boss Michel, who was the person to get them promoted in 2022.
Girona’s disastrous season additionally comes regardless of the membership possessing a star-studded squad.
Alongside Van de Beek, former Premier League stars Daley Blind, Bryan Gil and Paul Gazzaniga are amongst their ranks.
The LaLiga desk forward of the ultimate day, with seven groups nonetheless in danger earlier than the motion started
A number of Girona gamers, together with Arnau Martinez (above), had been left in tears at full-time
In addition they have Man Metropolis loanees Vitor Reis and Claudio Echeverri on the books, alongside Champions League stalwarts Axel Witsel, Thomas Lemar and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Nevertheless, Ter Stegen performed simply twice attributable to damage after becoming a member of in January, a destiny that additionally befell Van de Beek after he suffered an Achilles rupture in September.
He did return to the matchday squad for the ultimate two video games of the marketing campaign, however the Dutchman was an unused substitute on each events.
